Former Reserve Bank governor and ex-National Party leader Don Brash is keeping mum on speculation he has been lined up for the New Zealand board of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC).
ICBC has applied to the Reserve Bank of New Zealand for banking registration.
Asked whether it was correct that he would be a director should the application be successful, Brash said: "I’m afraid I can’t comment on this at this stage."
Brash was a director of ANZ National Bank between June 2007 and April 2011. He was Reserve Bank governor between 1988 and 2002.
The name ICBC New Zealand Limited was registered with the Companies Office in March this year. Its sole director is listed as Jun Jing.
It emerged in January that the Chinese government controlled ICBC had applied to the Reserve Bank for banking registration. The Reserve Bank doesn't comment on bank registration applications, merely releasing a brief statement if it grants a licence.
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